M. Chapoutier, Ermitage Le Pavillon 2003

vinous95

Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds

Bright, deep red. Spicy, vibrant and tangy nose offers redcurrant, wild strawberry and minerally raspberry tones. Impressively fresh and nervy on the palate, with lift and thrust to the exuberant red fruit tones. As this opens in the glass, the fruit tones take a darker turn toward blackberry and cassis, also picking up notes of graphite and licorice. The deeply concentrated, spicy and wonderfully long, sweet finish is framed by huge but remarkably integrated tannins.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Full ruby color. Vibrant aromas of blackberry, licorice, violet, iris and minerals. Markedly different in style from the last few samples, with its stony minerality giving it terrific inner-mouth energy and grip. Youthfully inky, extraordinarily dense black fruit flavors barely hint at the fireworks to come with a decade or more of aging. As chewy as a solid on the back end, coating the mouth with rich, complex tannins. Builds slowly and inexorably. A great showing today. These 2003 Hermitage cuvees should be among the monuments of the vintage.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck

Even better, and topping out on my scale, the 2003 Ermitage le Pavillon comes all from the granite soils of the Les Bessards lieu-dit and was aged 100% in new barrels. Its inky ruby/black color is followed by off the hook aromas and flavors of plum, creme de cassis, licorice, crushed rocks and violet/incense-like qualities. This gives way to a full-bodied, dense, seamless and textured 2003 that has building tannin, awesome concentration and a blockbuster finish. Drink it anytime over the coming two decades, although, as with the Le Meal, it’s gorgeous now. Finishing harvest at the end of August, Michel Chapoutier produced a monumental lineup of wines in 2003, and enough can’t be said about the quality coming for this estate. To say I was blown away would be an understatement.

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

A striking nose of blackberry, pencil-lead, iodine and a touch of boot-polish. The palate has a rich, decadent mouth-feel, exuberant black fruit, and a lot of glycerin but with the acidity to cut through it all. Its sumptuousness belies the firm tannic structure underneath. Huge grip, very long. A wine to boast about owning. Tasted May 2006.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

An awesome effort, the 2003 Ermitage La Pavillon is produced from an old vineyard in Les Bessards. Tasting this wine is akin to a religious drinking experience. An endlessly complex, extraordinarily rich, complicated offering, it may last a century. There are 500 cases of this wine, which smells like acacia flowers intermixed with black currant liqueur, melted licorice, Chinese black tea, and incense. With supple tannin, an unctuous texture, and a massive finish, this is a legend in the making. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2060+. As I have said so many times over the last 15 years, the top Chapoutier wines are meant for very long term drinking, and are not designed for immediate gratification. Everything Chapoutier is doing, from his bio-dynamically farmed vineyard to tiny yields, extended fermentations, indigenous yeasts, and no fining or filtration, is done to produce the essence of a vineyard and a vintage. His track record since 1989 and 1990 admirably proves that these are indeed remarkable wines made by a young genius who refuses to compromise. Michel Chapoutier has been misunderstood by some of his peers, and there is a lot of jealousy when someone this young is so incredibly talented, but it is an irrefutable fact that these are wines of singular greatness as well as longevity. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

A legend of the future is the 2003 Ermitage Le Pavillon (659 cases). The equal of such stupendous examples as 1990 and 1989, the 2003 is incredibly rich as well as awesomely well-delineated and fresh. An inky/blue/purple color is followed by a subtle but impressively intense nose of barbecue smoke, creme de cassis, blueberries, blackberries, and white flowers. The wine cascades over the palate (15.8% natural alcohol) with extraordinary richness, intensity, and silkiness. This seamlessly constructed Hermitage is, analytically, high in tannin, but extremely low in acidity, with a freaky accessibility (a vintage character). Prodigiously concentrated and high in extract, it should last for a half century or longer. It will be fascinating to follow over the next several decades. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900